Two new colleges, The College of St. Joseph the Worker in Steubenville, Ohio, and the Catholic Institute of Technology in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, are now provisionally recommended in The Newman Guide for their strong Catholic identity. Once these institutions have graduated a first class, they will have the opportunity to receive full Newman Guide recognition.

Since 2007, The Newman Guide has recognized faithful Catholic colleges—and last year it expanded to also recognize elementary and secondary schools and graduate programs. To be recognized, an institution must provide substantial information and adopt policies for academics, student life, personnel, and more that assure students will be formed in the Catholic faith and will be educated in fidelity to Catholic teaching.

“The Newman Guide has been instrumental in connecting us with like-minded Catholics who share our mission to establish and grow authentically Catholic colleges and universities,” said Alexis Haughey, co-founder of Catholic Institute of Technology. “We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to work with families as their students navigate the college search process and to shape those students into saints, scholars, and scientists.”

College of St. Joseph the Worker

The College of St. Joseph the Worker opened in fall 2024 in Steubenville, Ohio, and welcomed its first class of 31 students. The College combines the best of the Catholic intellectual tradition with training in the skilled trades.

At the College of St. Joseph the Worker, all students earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Catholic Studies and receive training in the residential construction trades, such as carpentry, HVAC, electrical and plumbing. Students spend three years in Steubenville, studying both the liberal arts and learning the trades. For the final three years, students take one online class each quarter and work as a full-time apprentice in a selected trade to be at or near journeyman status by the end of six years.

Students take 78 credits in Catholic theology and 10 credits in philosophy. The mandatum, a requirement under Canon Law that theologians have the approval of the local bishop to teach the Catholic faith, is required for all theology professors. With 100 percent Catholic faculty and students, the College has already attracted students from 21 states to experience its unique offerings.

St. Peter Catholic Church in Steubenville is just a five-minute walk from the College’s location, which offers daily Mass, Confession twice a week, and perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The College is also adding its own weekly Confession/Spiritual Direction evening to supplement these offerings.

The College has secured houses for students to reside in that are appropriately single-sex with no opposite-sex visitation to private rooms. Members of the opposite sex are only permitted in the common areas of the homes, and there is a curfew. There is no meal plan, and so students are expected to cook their own meals.

Situated in the same town as Franciscan University of Steubenville, students benefit from the broader Catholic community. And since students have jobs during most of the years in college, the College is extremely affordable. For the Catholic student who wants to be prepared spiritually, intellectually and physically for their lay vocation, the College of St. Joseph the Worker is hard to beat.

Catholic Institute of Technology

The Catholic Institute of Technology opened in fall 2024 in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and welcomed its first class of 15 students. CatholicTech embraces the integration of faith and science—something hard to find in universities today that offer STEM degrees.

At CatholicTech, students can major in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science, biology or physics. Students take four courses in Catholic theology and four courses in philosophy, but that amount is reduced for students who have already earned an undergraduate degree at a Newman Guide Recommended college and are working toward a second bachelor’s degree in engineering or science as a part of the “Cardinal Newman Fellowship.” The Fellowship is an innovative program that allows Newman Guide graduates who are accepted in the program to participate in work-study at CatholicTech and have their tuition and room and board costs covered.

At CatholicTech, all Catholic theology and philosophy courses are taught by priests or religious. One hundred percent of students and faculty are Catholic.

Daily Mass is held on campus at a time when no classes are scheduled, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confession are scheduled weekly. CatholicTech plans to host monthly Church history immersion trips around Italy, annual retreats, and pilgrimage opportunities throughout Europe.

Student residences are appropriately single-sex with no opposite-sex visitation to private rooms. CatholicTech’s building has one wing for males and one for females, with common spaces and classrooms separating the two wings.

With its location in Castel Gandolfo, the opportunities for Catholic students are second to none. Students live just minutes from the Vatican Observatory and the Pope’s summer residence, and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is just a 30-minute drive. For the adventurous Catholic student who would like to study and live abroad, CatholicTech is an excellent option. The Church and society will be strengthened by graduates who are faithfully Catholic engineers and scientists.